Shares of Amarin (Nasdaq: AMRN) jumped nearly 20 percent in morning trade Tuesday on the heels of some highly-anticipated patent news. The stock was down nearly 4 percent ahead of the release; following the spike higher, shares pushed away from session highs, however are still up 5.6 percent to $11.25.

The US Patent and Trademark Office updated the status of Amarin's 12/052,598 application from "Document Verification" to "Allowed -- Notice of Allowance Not Yet Mailed."

Joseph Zakrzewski, Chairman and CEO said, "The issuance of a notice of allowance is a significant additional step forward in the execution of our plan to protect the commercial potential of AMR101. Amarin's plan consists of continuing to pursue additional patent protection, seeking regulatory exclusivity, maintaining trade secrets and taking advantage of manufacturing barriers to entry, with the goal of protecting the commercial potential of AMR101 to 2030 and beyond. This patent application is one of Amarin's over 16 pending U.S. patent applications across over 11 patent families."

Including this morning's move higher, Amarin shares are up about 60 percent since the USPTO updated the status of the company's '598 application to "Examiner's Amendment Communication" on March 14th.